


Florence the Turtle

by TheDancingDoctor



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: F/M, and she realizes she'd like to be a mom, because Bedelia can't have babies, except they don't adopt a human, they adopt, they adopt a turtle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-08-13 07:26:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7967761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDancingDoctor/pseuds/TheDancingDoctor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bedelia finds out she can't have children and so they adopt a turtle and name it Florence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

Bedelia lay on the bed she shared with her husband, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. After all the trying on her part and Hannibal's, the visit to her doctor that day had confirmed that she was incapable of carrying a child to term. She wanted so badly to be a mother, but hadn't realised it until she and Hannibal had become a couple. She didn't want him to know that the lack of child, and heir to the Lecter estate, was her fault. She didn't want him to kill her and find someone else to be with.  
Hannibal came into the bedroom after returning home from work, looking at his wife and smiling at how beautiful she looked laying on their bed. Had she been waiting for him? He hoped she had been, especially since he had left before she awoke that morning and they hadn't been able to make love. He missed her more than words could ever describe. He went to the bed and removed his shoes before laying down with her. He put his arm around her middle and she stiffened.  
Hannibal furrowed his brow. It had been so long since she had shied away from his attentions. Upon a closer look, he noticed that she had been crying.  
"Bedelia, my dear what's the matter?" he asked, stroking her arm softly, pleased when she began to relax under his touch again.  
"Nothing," she replied, wiping at her eyes and sitting up. "Nothing that's any concern of yours."  
Hannibal's brow furrowed again. "Bedelia, anything that has upset my wife is my concern. Please, tell me."  
Bedelia sighed and resigned herself to the fact that she needed to tell her husband the truth. "Hannibal," she sobbed, "I can't have children. I can't carry on the Lecter name with you."  
Hannibal cupped her face in his hands. "Bedelia, I didn't know that mattered to you. I never thought you wanted to have children."  
"I didn't, until it became possible to have a child with you. I want to have your child," she replied, the tears finally falling from her eyes. "I feel like I've failed you."  
"Don't worry Bedelia, we'll find a way to have someone to take care of. Even if we have to adopt," he assured her before kissing her lips gently.

 


	2. Chapter 2

            Bedelia and Hannibal looked over the paperwork they had received from the adoption agency. Could she really give these children the life that they deserved? Could she and Hannibal put their professions aside and be good parents to a child who has been through trauma of one form or another. Could she and Hannibal stop being psychiatrists when they came home? They couldn't even stop their professional curiosity from finding its way into their marriage.

            "Can we really do this Hannibal?" she asked nervously, looking across the breakfast island at her husband. "Would we really be good parents to a child whose history isn't going to be revealed to us? What if their mother had a drinking problem? Or either of their parents suffered from a mental illness? These children deserve the best, and you and I aren't the most sane couple. We can't change who we are, not even for someone that we love. I know, I've tried."

            Hannibal stood up and walked around to put his arms around Bedelia. "We'll do whatever you want. Perhaps we can find a surrogate? I know you blame yourself, and I need you to stop doing that. Whatever you want to do, I will support you, just as I always have."

            "I don't really want people claiming that you and I are using our child for some sick psychological experiment either. I don't think that I can see someone else carrying your child- our child, and raise him or her. I wouldn't really feel like our child's mother. I know, it's probably crazy to think that, but I trust that you won't judge me too much," she said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

            Hannibal rubbed her arm. "I don't judge you at all. We'll find a way to be parents. What about adopting a baby?"

            He knew it was close to impossible. Neither he nor Bedelia had the temperment to deal with a baby. They'd have managed it if the child was their own, but there was no guarantee that they'd be able to do it with another person's blood. Blood meant bonding, and he knew from previous conversations when they'd discussed children that Bedelia had every intention of breastfeeding their baby. With another's baby, she wouldn't be able to, which would remove from the bonding. He was close to his mother until she had been killed, and he knew that there was nothing more special than the bond between a mother and her child. He couldn't take that away from his wife.

            Bedelia shrugged. "Maybe. Would you be able to handle that? Only one of us would be able to work until the baby is old enough for day care," she said.

            "We both work from home anyways," he said, "but we'll only make a decision if we both agree. If we choose to adopt a baby, I won't have appointments at the same time you do, that way one of us will always be with the baby."

            Bedelia smiled. "I'll think about it. But I'm still worried, now that I know that I can't have kids, about whether or not I'm supposed to be a mother. Would I even be a good mother? Maybe my inability is a sign that I shouldn't."

            Hannibal shook his head. "You'd be a wonderful mother to any child." He took her hand and stroked the back of it with his thumb. He leaned in and gave her a kiss.

            Bedelia returned the kiss and brought her hands up to cup his face, stroking his cheek gently, sighing against his lips as she felt his stubble.

            Pulling back, Hannibal smiled. "What about a pet?"

            "Isn't a child enough?" Bedelia asked, laughing softly against her husband's mouth.

            "I mean, if we can't decide on what to do," he said, "I think a pet is a very good idea, personally. Less commitment than a child."

            Bedelia cocked her head to the side and grinned. "No dogs though. It might attract the wrong crowd to our home," she said sternly.

            "Will?" Hannibal asked. "I don't think Will is the worst person that could knock on our door."

            Bedelia glared at her husband playfully. "Will Graham is not coming into this house to try and take you away from me."

            "He'd never succeed. My Will Graham experiment came to a close quite some time ago," Hannibal said. "Any other animals you say no to."

            "Anything with fur of any kind. I'll start sneezing all the time, and I couldn't have that. No birds, they annoy me," she replied.

            Hannibal chuckled. "I couldn't have you sneezing constantly either. Despite how adorable your sneeze is, my love."

            Bedelia smacked his arm.

            "Alright, I'll give a friend a call. A friend who may have a few ideas about which pets would be best for us," he said, pulling out of her embrace.

            "Will Graham?" she asked.

            "Yes, if you must know," he replied.

            "I insist that I get to listen in on the call," she replied, "not that I think he'd try anything. He's scared of me and what I can do to him."

            Hannibal snorted lightly. "Yes, he quivers in his sneakers everytime he thinks about you and your scary references to crushing him like a wounded bird."

            Bedelia smiled happily as Hannibal pulled out his phone and called Will.

 

            An hour later, Hannibal and Bedelia looked down at the list of animals that Will had recommended for them. Snake, hairless cat, lizard, and a turtle. Bedelia took the pen from Hannibal's hand and struck off hairless cat.

            "They freak me out," she said, getting a laugh from Hannibal.

            "I don't like the way snakes move. And lizards are just as terrifying," Hannibal said.

            "So that leaves us with a turtle on the list," Bedelia said, furrowing her brow. "Turtles are small, quiet, and low maintenance."

            "Very unlike a baby, but I think we could be good to a turtle," Hannibal said.

            Bedelia nodded. "What about a name for our turtle?"

            Hannibal thought for a moment. "What about naming the little creature we're going to be taking care of after the city where you and I realized our love for each other? The city that took care of us, for a while at least."

            Bedelia nodded and smiled happily. "Florence it is. Florence Lecter-Du Maurier."

            "Florence the turtle. Our turtle. I like the sound of that," Hannibal said.

            Bedelia wrapped her arms around her husband. They were getting a turtle!


End file.
